“this will be a sign for you...” (Luke 2:12)
Even a little child knows
that babies should be wrapped in cloths.
So, while the shepherds were wondering
about the angel hosts
and Mary was pondering
what had just happened,
as a little child, I was worrying about that sign,
worrying that these shepherds
might not find him with those directions.
Probably not that many babies were lying in mangers,
even in Bethlehem that night,
even with all the visitors,
I reassured myself.
Yet, wouldn't they have to search a lot of stables?
Couldn't at least one angel go with them,
and hover above the nativity
with a scrolling “Gloria”?
Wouldn't a star be a better sign?
Maybe a comet with a long,
downward-streaking arrow for a tail.
Or shouldn't there be halos, like in the paintings,
so he and his mother would
stand out in the crowd?
No -- even a worried child
suspects that would not do,
suspects that was not what God was doing.
Was it a miracle they found him,
Even 'though he looked like
a regular, little child,
Even 'though he himself
had to be the sign
of what God was doing?
Or, I wondered,
might it happen again, just that way,
even for a regular little child
looking for what God was doing
on any regular day?
"this child is set...for a sign" (Luke 2:34) SH
No comments:
Post a Comment